The Burglar In The Closet (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
This book inspired one of the greatest head-scratchers in the history of film adaptations when Hollywood decided that Burglar would feature Whoopi Goldberg playing a white male and Bobcat Goldthwait would be perfect as a lesbian dog groomer.I got to meet Lawrence Block while he was on a book tour for Hope to Die, and I asked him if he knew what prompted the movie producers to have Whoopi play Bernie. Even though it was obvious that he’d answered this about a million times before Block patiently explained that he had no input on the film version, and that the story he heard was that initially Bruce Willis was supposed to be Bernie and Whoopi was cast as Carol. However, Willis bowed out, and some genius got the brilliant idea to have her play Bernie which then led to gender swapping Carol into Bobcat Goldthwait. And thus cinema history was made….Professional burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr just wanted to get his teeth cleaned, but his dentist Carl Sheldrake has a proposal for him. Sheldrake’s ex-wife Crystal reamed him in their divorce settlement, and he’d like to get some payback by having Bernie steal her large collection of valuable jewelry. Bernie could use the cash so he agrees to what seems like an easy payday. However, after he’s broken into her apartment and collected the jewels, Crystal returns unexpectedly with a gentleman friend, and Bernie has to hide in a closet while the two make with the bow-chick-a-bow-wow. Before he can escape, Crystal winds up murdered and adding insult to injury the killer stole the briefcase full of loot that Bernie had collected. Bernie is determined to recover the jewels he stole fair and square so he plays amateur sleuth with the help of Sheldrake’s pretty dental hygienist. However, he soon finds himself the primary suspect when the cops learn that he was in the apartment.This is the second book featuring Bernie, and Block delivers a witty and off-beat mystery with the morally challenged burglar. Like most of Block’s stuff there’s a lot of fun conversations that veer off into unexpected directions, and there’s an interesting solution to who killed Crystal and why. My only gripe was that despite what the presence of Bobcat in the movie would lead you to believe, this early in the series Bernie hasn’t met his best friend Carol yet so I missed their goofy interactions.
Obviously the life of a cat burglar wouldn't be straight boring - he'd run into 'situations', although unlikely situations like this, to where he's in his dentist's chair and asked, in between tooth work, if he would hit up the ex-wife's apartment and steal back some jewels. As always Bernie is a fun character who fully embraces his immoral outlooks but lives with his own code of honor in the thieving world. Love that the hands-out detective made his appearances; hope he does for all the books. Wonder what happened to the one girl from the first book? Guess it was a fleeting ship and not a lasting thing. Not quite as good as the first but still cute and a fun ride. The villain in this case wasn't as fair to figure out but still a surprise. There's mucho tension in some spots as Bernie again ends up in tight situations, keeping the tension in line with the comical bursts. As with the first book, how the body happens is rather amusing; this burglar just doesn't have good luck when it comes to these crime scenes.The series isn't award winning yet, it's more of a novelty type of cozy that I think mystery fans should enjoy. I have the next three books to read and look forward to more fun antics with a man who looks forward to burglary, but not these murders he keeps having to solve instead.
What do You think about The Burglar In The Closet (2006)?
Block is a facile writer. He writes with humor and zest. Impossible to read his books without smiling. I have read three or four of his novels -- all written in the first person. Not sure if any of his many novels are ever written in the third person, but I hope to work my way through his entire output and find out. Humor is the primary ingredient here. There is a tasty helping of street-smart lingo to add a little spice.I won't confuse "The Burglar in the Closet" with great literature, but if you want an easy read that will leave you smiling and not tax you emotionally this book is for you.
—Hal
PROTAGONIST: Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglarSERIES: #2 of 10RATING: 3.75WHY: When Bernie Rhodenbarr's dentist tips him off that his ex-wife owns a lot of jewelry, Bernie decides to rob her. She returns unexpectedly with a lover. Bernie hides in her closet, where she locks him in - with the attaché case full of jewels still in her room. Bernie hears her being murdered; when he finally gets out, he finds that the case has been stolen. The dentist is arrested, but he spills the beans on Bernie, who then becomes the prime suspect. The plot is nicely complicated and lots of well-integrated humor. I did find there was a bit too much explication--I much prefer to see things than be told them.
—Maddy
Well read again by Adams Morgan, whose voice fits Bernie Rhodenbarr perfectly & captures the other New Yorkers well, too. (I love Mrs. Hesch. Reminds me of my Aunt Anna.) Bernie is again suspected of murder & must find the real killer before the cops find him. There were so many similarities to the first in the overall plot that I just couldn't give this another star, although it wasn't bad. The end worked out about how I expected, but there was a bit of twist that I thought was over the top. (view spoiler)[Bernie thinking that Craig the dentist was the one making love to his ex-wife while he was hiding in the closet. (hide spoiler)]
—Jim
